


By The Sea

by Sarek and Amanda Archive Maintainer (Selek)



Series: Treasured Memories [2]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Ster Julie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-25
Updated: 2013-03-25
Packaged: 2017-12-06 12:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/735405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selek/pseuds/Sarek%20and%20Amanda%20Archive%20Maintainer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spock has kept treasures all through his life. What do they mean?</p><p>Written by Ster Julie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By The Sea

ooOoo--

"Mama!"

Amanda groaned. It had been a long trip to Earth, and getting to the bungalow seemed longer still. Young Spock had slept through most of it, but his parents had not. Even if they had gotten to bed at a decent hour, it was still too early to rise.

Sarek hadn't moved. She checked to make sure he was breathing (It was less intrusive than checking through the bond if her husband was all right!) before easing out of bed, donning a dressing gown, and padding over to the nursery.

Amanda found her son sitting crossly in his crib.

"Good morning, Baby!" Spock favored his mother with a dark look.

"Where MY bed?" He hit one of the bars keeping him prisoner in a bed meant for a child much younger than he. "Spock BIG boy. Want big boy bed!"

"And good morning to you, Mister Grumpy!" she said wearily. Amanda let the side down as far as it would go and held her arms out to her pouting son.

"Gotta potty," Spock declared before he deigned to uncross his arms and reach out to his mother. Amanda helped him out of the confining bed and led him to the facilities. As Spock took care of his urgent business, Amanda peeked out the window and smiled at what she saw.

The eastern sky was lightening, chasing away the dark of night with pastel splendor. She could see that the tide was ebbing, leaving the sand littered with shells. Amanda knew a little boy who had never experienced the ocean firsthand. It was time to introduce Spock to maritime wonders.

"All done," Spock announced.

"Spock, would you like a surprise?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, Mama!" he proclaimed loudly.

"Shh!" she warned. "Your father is still asleep. We have to be quiet." Amanda led Spock back to his room and pulled out appropriate clothing for him to wear at the waterline. Spock pulled off his pajamas and let his mother help him dress quickly. Motioning for her son to sit quietly, Amanda tiptoed to the master bedroom and gathered her own clothes, which she quickly pulled on while Sarek continued to sleep. They all needed this vacation, none more so than Sarek.

Amanda collected Spock and a tote bag. Together they eased out of the house, went down the stairs and walked the short distance to the shore. The light was still dim, so when the big wave crashed against the nearby rock jetty, Spock clung in fright to Amanda's leg.

"It's okay, Baby," she soothed. It's just the water."

"Too loud," Spock stated.

"Yes," Amanda agreed. "It's loud. It's the roar of the ocean."

"Ocean roar?" Spock puzzled. "Lematya roar."

"That's right," Amanda concurred. "The Lematyas roar, the lions roar, and the ocean roars." Amanda pointed out the first rays of dawn coming over the horizon.

"Water on fire!" Spock concluded.

"No, Spock," Amanda corrected. "That is only the reflection of the sun on the water. Isn't it pretty?"

Spock nodded. Just then several seals slipped out of the water and onto the rocks. Spock's mouth dropped open as they called to each other.

"Urk, urk urk!" Amanda imitated.

"Urk, urk!" Spock imitated right back.

"Look there," Amanda directed. Spock turned and saw a flock of seagulls circling a fishing boat just coming in from a night excursion.

"Eee, eee," Spock repeated their plaintive cry. Amanda was impressed. Smiling, she took her son's hand.

"Come, Baby," she urged. "Come see what surprise the ocean left for you."

"For me?" Spock asked in astonishment. Amanda laughed softly.

"Yes, Spock," she answered. "Today it is all for you."

Mother and son made their way to the tide line. It should have been easier to walk on the wet sand, except that each step revealed a new treasure. Amanda picked up a black mussel shell.

"Look, Spock." The boy oohed as she revealed the shell's iridescent colors inside. She held out the tote bag. "Do you want to keep it?" Amanda asked of her son. Spock nodded and dropped the shell inside the bag.

Spock took a step and stooped to pick up a round, white object.

"Oh, Spock," Amanda said happily, "You found a sand dollar." The boy dropped the shell into the bag.

Mother and son went from object to object, picking up one find after another. Most of them were bivalves, like the mussel and some of those were still attached to its other half. Others were gastropods of various sizes and textures.

Spock bent to pick up a soft, olive-hued object.

"Wait, Spock," Amanda warned. "That is sea cucumber."

"Balloon," Spock insisted. Amanda nodded.

"Yes it has an air bladder, much like a balloon," she confirmed. "But don't pick it up. It's . . . "

"Ucky," Spock announced, wiping his hand on his jacket."

"Ucky," Amanda repeated, amazed again at how fast her small child was.

Spock stooped suddenly and picked up a pair of good-sized whelk shells. He held them out to Amanda for inspection.

"Very good, Spock!" she praised. "This shell can do something very special." Amanda gently pressed one of the shells against her son's ear. She watched his curious eyes grow very large. "What do you hear?"

"Ocean roar!" Spock announced. Amanda laughed and held the other shell to Spock's other ear. He quickly pulled back.

"Too loud."

Amanda suddenly noticed something about the shells. When turned upside down, they nearly matched the shape of her son's delicately pointed ears.

"Spock," Amanda said playfully, holding both shells up to her ears. "Do I look more Vulcan now?"

Spock looked from side to side in amazement. His mother's ears now looked more like his!

Amanda picked her son up at the waist and swung him in a circle until he began to giggle with all his might. Amanda put Spock down and he ran from her right into the flock of sea gulls. The startled birds flew off in all directions. Spock tried to pluck them out of the sky, but to no avail. Amanda picked him up over her head and settled him on her shoulders. Holding her son's arms out, she swooped and dipped from side to side giving Spock the illusion that he was flying, just like one of the birds. She carried Spock like this all the way back to the bungalow.

Spock's happy cries carried all the way to the beach bungalow. Sarek rose from the bed, opened the door and observed the early morning antics of his very human wife and his halfling son. His tired mien grew dark.

Amanda swung her son off her shoulders and lowered the tote bag as they entered the small house. Spock fished out the two whelk shells and held them out to his father, but Sarek didn't move.

Amanda watched as Spock visually deflated at Sarek's silent reproof. Her happy little boy, bubbling with enthusiasm was gone in that instant. Little Spock didn't know what he had done wrong, but he knew enough to keep quiet. His gaze dropped to the twin treasures in his hands.

Sarek decided then and there that Spock's babyhood was coming to an end. It was time to stop indulging the boy and begin his rigorous trainings in the Disciplines.

Sarek wondered who would be more distraught at this, Spock or his mother?

End story.


End file.
